Draco Malfoy becomes unlikely star of China’s New Year celebrations

Actor Tom Felton’s image is appearing on home decorations and merchandise all over China. Photo / China Minutes

Harry Potter’s nemesis, Draco Malfoy, has become the unlikely mascot of the Lunar New Year in China.

The face of Malfoy, portrayed by British actor Tom Felton in the film series, has been plastered across red festive decor and merchandise around China including posters, flags, stickers and phone covers.

The fictional character has surged in popularity this year thanks to the Chinese spelling of his name, Ma-er-fu. The name contains the words for horse and fortune, making Malfoy a suitable figure for the upcoming Year of the Horse.

Felton, 38, who recently reprised his role in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, is lapping up the renewed interest in his character.

On Tuesday, he shared an image of a giant Malfoy banner hanging in the atrium of a Chinese shopping mall on his Instagram page.

Fans can buy similar posters featuring Malfoy’s face ‍for 11 yuan ($2.64) on e-commerce platform Taobao.

Before the Lunar New Year, Chinese households typically decorate their doors with couplets, which feature writings calling for health and prosperity. Others cover their houses with fuzi, red square papers printed with the Chinese word for prosperity.

This year, videos across social media show homes with posters carrying well-wishing phrases alongside the face of Malfoy, as well as other Harry Potter characters, including Severus Snape.

A short video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, shows one person sticking a Malfoy-faced fai chun – the traditional red paper – on their fridge, alongside the caption “You’re a genius”. The clip garnered 60,000 likes.

“Year of the Horse’s blessing, so stick on a Malfoy,” said another user on China’s Rednote.

The Year of the Horse begins on February 17, following the Year of the Snake, another animal that represents Malfoy given that it is the symbol of Slytherin, the character’s house at Hogwarts.

Foreign films and books often struggle to make any money in China because of its strict limitations on international projects.

However, hundreds of millions of Harry Potter books have been sold in the country, while a re-release of the first film of the series in 2020 grossed more than 90 million yuan in three days.

Warner Bros, which manages the Harry Potter franchise, has agreed to develop a studio tour in Shanghai mirroring the experience in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, where the original movies were filmed.

A ‌Universal Studios theme park ⁠in Beijing also features The Wizarding World of Harry ‍Potter, a section dedicated to Harry Potter-themed rides and attractions.

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